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Thursday, October 11, 2012

Blackrock and Loft Mountain

Wednesday, October 3, 2012:

These two landmarks in the southern section of Shenandoah National Park were the bookends of today's hike. I started the morning by going over Blackrock, which seems more like a pile of rocks than a rock outcrop. But either way it is a place to get some great views, mostly off to the west:

Then, after some transitional walking that included several crossings of Skyline Drive, I followed the AT on its circuitous loop around Loft Mountain Campground. It's as if there's some sort of 'plague' there and the AT can't just take the direct route and pass through the campground. Instead it makes a huge wide swing around the perimeter. There are plenty of places elsewhere along the AT where the trail tromps unapologetically right through parks and campgrounds. Even here in Shenandoah, you barge right through the midst of the bustle at Skyland, particularly the stables and the hugely popular Stonyman Nature trail (this I know from my previous hike through the park two years ago). But here? ... no ... the Loft Mountain vehicle-campers must not taint the hiker purist, and vice-versa.

Anyhow, Loft mountain offered another nice view to the west:

And it was the venue for a few 'local color' photos. The fall color change is rapidly coming here now, and I found these diminutive brightly colored partners right on the trail: a columbine and a little red maple seedling, both sporting their technicolor dress:

The Witch Hazel are in bloom too, with their delicate twisted blooms:

And the deer on Loft Mountain (and elsewhere in the strictly no-hunting zone of the park), have lost nearly all fear of humans. I encountered at least a half dozen of them, and got close enough to 'shoot' this nicely posing two point buck:

The trail itself was all very easy hiking, even with the elevation changes (which weren't too extreme), and the weather got to feeling almost summery by afternoon. It was a great day to be out and about and footloose in the woods.

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"Not all who wander are lost." -- J.R.R. Tolkien

Welcome. Here is a site about traveling the old fashioned way—on foot.

“…the walking of which I speak has nothing in it akin to taking exercise, as it is called, as the sick take medicine at stated hours—as the swinging of dumb-bells or chairs; but is itself the enterprise and adventure of the day."

— Henry David Thoreau

For me, purposeful walking lies at the heart a well-lived life. Walking defines us as a species. We are the ape who left the trees to explore the world. Walking made us curious and adaptable, which led to tool making, agriculture, community, and perhaps to the point of forgetting that it was our two feet that got us here. In myself I find the purest peace experiencing this world in the simple way of our distant ancestors.

“
…walk in a way that … print[s] peace and serenity on the Earth. Walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your feet."

— Thich Nhat Hanh

I started this blog after I retired from NASA, so that family could follow my bucket-list treks. I’m still trekking. See the ‘Hopping Rocks’ tab for details. Sharing the joy of my walks just amps up the joy-meter. This is a labor of love.